Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to articles of clothing such as men's ties or neck ties (which term also includes cravats) and lady's scarves. In particular, the invention relates to the storage of such articles in a wardrobe.

Background Art

In order to maintain ties and scarves with a neat and pressed appearance, it is desirable to store them in a relatively flat configuration so that any creases or crumples in the tie or scarf caused from it having previously been knotted, can be removed by gravity drawing the tie or scarf flat over a period of time. Often such ties or scarves are merely draped over the lower rung of a wire coat hanger, for example.

However, this is less than satisfactory since they are liable to tip the coat hanger so that all the ties or scarves end up bunched together in one corner of the coat hanger. Also both ties and scarves are often fabricated from a fabric having a low coefficient of friction and are therefore liable to slip from the hanger and lie in a crumpled state on the floor of the wardrobe.

It is also known to use specialised tie holding hangers such as that illustrated in Fig. 1 and to be described hereafter, however, such arrangements suffer from various problems. In particular, generally there is nothing restraining the tie in any particular place and therefore ties are liable to slide off their supports, particularly with removal of shirts and other items of clothing from adjacent the tie hanger in the wardrobe.

Prior art searches conducted after the priority date have disclosed US Patent No. 2,492,226 (Kohl et al) which discloses a cardboard tie rack with partially cut out arms 21 having serrated teeth. Ties are retained on the arms by frictional engagement with the teeth which bite into the fabric. This arrangement is incapable of any longevity since the teeth will quickly wear in use whilst repeated swinging in and out of the arms 21 will damage same. Further, even if a more robust material than cardboard were to be used in its fabrication, the saw tooth retention arrangement

would rapidly abrade the delicate fabric of most ties. Other, less relevant, prior art disclosed by the search includes US Patent 3,987,903 (Swilley) and US Patent 5,526,968 (Larson)

The genesis of the present invention is to provide a tie and/or scarf holding device which enables multiple ties and/or scarves to be held in a wardrobe and provides an alternative to the abovementioned prior art.

Summary of the Invention In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a multiple tie holding device for holding a multiplicity of ties and/or scarves in a wardrobe, said device comprising a main body, hanger means to permit said main body to be suspended from a wardrobe rail, a multiplicity of individual tie holders each formed to releasably engage a single tie or scarf, and engagement means to permit said holders to be engaged with said main body in spaced apart relationship.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of storing ties and/or scarves in a wardrobe having a hanging rail, said method comprising the steps of (in any order): (i) hanging a main body from said rail,

(ii) engaging a multiplicity of individual tie holders with said main body, and

(iii) releasably retaining each of said ties and/or scarves in a corresponding one of said tie holders.

In accordance with a third aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of fabricating a multiple tie and/or scarf holding device, said method comprising the steps of:

(i) fabricating a multiplicity of individual tie holders, (ii) fabricating a main body, and

(iii) engaging said tie holders with said main body.

Brief Description of the Drawings

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a multiple tie holding device of the prior art, Fig. 2 is a front perspective view of the multiple tie holding device of a first embodiment,

Fig. 3 is a partial end elevation of the device of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a front perspective view of the multiple tie holding device of a second embodiment.

Detailed Description

A prior art tie holding device 1 which is based on a conventional coat hanger is illustrated in Fig. 1. The device 1 includes a conventional coat hanger 2 having a hook 3 and a lower rung 4. Positioned below the lower rung 4 is a ladder like arrangement 5 having multiple rungs 6 and a single side rail 7. The other side rail of a conventional ladder is missing to enable each of the individual rungs 6 to be easily accessed.

In use ties 9 are draped over the individual rungs 4, 6 and are there able to hang so as to remove the creases formed in the ties by being knotted. The prior art device 1 suffers from a number of disadvantages including that the ties 9 are free to slide over the rungs 4, 6. In particular this happens if the weight of tie to either side of the balance point is not substantially equal. It is a common occurrence with such a prior art device for the user to find one or more ties have slipped off the device 1 and instead of being hung to remove creases, lie in a crumpled state on the floor of the wardrobe.

International (PCT) Patent Specification No. WO 03/082061 discloses a hanger for individual ties such as are used to display individual ties for sale in a tie retailing establishment. Such individual tie hangers are normally discarded by the purchaser after purchase and for this reason are made from inexpensive plastics material which is able to be moulded in an inexpensive fashion. The contents of the

abovementioned PCT specification are hereby incorporated into the present specification by cross reference for all purposes. The device illustrated therein has not been manufactured or sold in Australia or elsewhere as of the priority date of the present application.

Turning now to Figs. 2 and 3, the multiple tie holding device 10 of the first embodiment has a main body 12 from which protrudes a hanger hook 14 by means of which the device 10 can be suspended from a rail 16 of a wardrobe (not illustrated).

Arranged in two (or more) parallel rows are a multiplicity of individual tie holders 18 each of which is substantially as disclosed in the abovementioned PCT specification. The tie holders 18 are preferably staggered so that the tie 9 held by each tie holder 18 is able to hang freely without interference with adjacent ties 9. If desired, each of the tie holders 18 can include its own hook 19. However, preferably that part of the mould which forms the hook 19 is blanked off. Thus preferably no hook 19 is present and for this reason the hook 19 is illustrated in phantom.

Preferably, the individual tie holders 18 are individually moulded and are releasably retained in a recess 20 formed in the main body 12. As illustrated in Fig. 3, each recess 20 is formed in the main body 12 and has an upwardly directed retaining Hp 21 and a downwardly directed retaining lip 22. Preferably the body of each tie holder 18 is able to snap engage with the lips 21, 22 and thereby be releasably retained in the recess 20. The recesses 20 and retaining lips 21, 22 are preferably located on both sides of the main body 12 so that ties 9 are able to be hung substantially symmetrically on each side of the main body 12, not merely on one side of the main body 12 as illustrated in Fig. 2. This helps to balance the load on the hanger hook 14.

A second embodiment is illustrated in Fig. 4. Here the main body 112 is provided with four rows of receptacles 120 for the hangers 18, receptacles 120 being provided on both sides of the main body 112. Each receptacle 120 is formed from two opposing side walls 121, 122 each of which has abase 123. The side walls 121,

122 and base 123 define a pocket into which the hanger 18 with its tie or scarf can be inserted and removed. Each of the side walls 121, 122 is formed adjacent a slot 125 and the receptacles 120 on each side of the main body 112 are staggered so that the slots 125 of the receptacles 120 on one side are spaced from the slots 125 of the receptacles 120 on the other side of the main body. Again with this embodiment the holders 18 can be provided with, or without the hook 19.

An advantage of having the tie holders 18 releasably detachable from the main body 12 is that a particular tie can be selected by the user to be worn today, the corresponding tie holder 18 removed from the main body 12, the tie holder 18 manipulated to remove the tie, and then the empty tie holder 18 can be closed and then returned to the corresponding recess 20. This procedure can then be reversed at the end of the day when the tie is to be returned into the wardrobe.

In addition, the device 10 can be sold in dis-assembled form with the tie holders 18 not positioned in their corresponding recesses 20. This has the advantage that each end user or purchaser supplies the labour required to assemble the device.

Furthermore, since the mould from which each tie holder 18 is produced is relatively complex and therefore expensive, but the tie holders 18 themselves being produced in quantity are very inexpensive, the total cost of the device can be lowered by utilizing the tie holders 18 together with an inexpensive main body 12, 112. In particular the inter-engagement of the main body 12, 112 with each tie holder 18 can be unsophisticated thereby ensuring that the moulding expenses in relation to the main body 12, 112 are kept to a minimum.

Alternatively, the tie holders 18 can be glued into the recesses 20, 120 or even integrally moulded with the main body 12, 112 so that the tie holders 18 are permanently fixed to the main body 12, 112. In this case the appropriate tie holder 18 is manipulated in situ to release (and replace) the tie.

Irrespective of whether the tie holders 18 are detachable from the main body 12, 112 or not, a substantial advantage able to be achieved by the device is that the ties 9 (or scarves) are physically restrained by being clamped within the tie holder 18 but without the fabric of the ties (or scarves) being abraded in any way. This means that the biting engagement referred to in US Patent No. 2,492,226 (Kohl et al) is avoided entirely.

Furthermore, the ties 9 are unable to slide relative to the device 10 in the way that the ties 9 can slide relative to the rungs 4, 6 of the device 1 of Fig. 1. As a consequence, the ties 9 (or scarves) cannot fall from the device 10 and end up on the floor of the wardrobe.

As a consequence of the ties and/or scarves each being securely clamped in their corresponding tie holder 18, the entire device 10 can be removed from the wardrobe in order to facilitate the selection of a tie (or scarf) to be worn. Similarly, all the ties can be aired by removing the device 10 from the wardrobe, carrying it outdoors, and hanging the device 10 from a washing line, or similar, in the sun for a period. After sunning, the device 10 is returned to the wardrobe and none of the ties (or scarves) need to individually touched or handled. This is to be contrasted with the prior art of Fig. 1 where removal and return of the device 1 is liable to result in one or more of the ties being dislodged or displaced.

The preferred length for the row of each of the tie holders 18 is preferably substantially equal to the corresponding maximum extent of a conventional coat hanger (that is the width across the shoulders of an adult). This means that the device 10 can be easily located within the wardrobe without protruding beyond shirts and similar garments also stored within the wardrobe.

The foregoing describes only two embodiments of the present invention and modifications obvious to those skilled in the sartorial and/or plastic moulding arts, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the device can be used in relation to belts, particularly ladies belts. In

addition, the main body 12 and all the individual tie holders 18 are preferably transparent to assist in tie selection.

The term "comprising" (and its grammatical variations) as used herein is used in the inclusive sense of "including" or "having" and not in the exclusive sense of "consisting only of.